Heartbeat
by Malec-Obsessed-Fan
Summary: In which Kamanosuke pines, Isanami flirts and Sasuke conspires. Saizo just so happens to be caught up in the middle. Saizo x Kamanosuke, Sasuke x Isanami, and one-sided Saizo x Isanami.


Heartbeat

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><p><strong>Yo, my first Brave 10 fanfic here (Disappointingly, there aren't that many fanfics here - we should all work together to change that). Saizo x Kamanosuke happened to be one of my favourite couples and I thought it was nothing more than wishful thinking. And then Episode 6 came along and I was like OMFG :D :D :D and now it gave me cravings to write. Probably going to be a multi-chap :) I don't think we have any of those yet. And <em>WHAT THE EBBING CRAP<em> There is no _Kamanosuke_ listed under characters D:  
><strong>

_Summary: In which Kamanosuke pines, Isanami flirts and Sasuke conspires. Saizo just so happens to be caught up in the middle._

_Pairings: Saizo x Kamanosuke and Sasuke x Isanami. (One sided) Saizo x Isanami_

_GE__N__ERAL WAR_N_I_N_GS: YAOI (aka, a relatio_n_ship betwee_n_ two me_n_), a_n_d I'll list others while they come. Rated T (for now, may possibly change later)  
><em>

_WAR__N__I__NGS FOR THIS CHAPTER: ___N___o__n__e as far as I'm co__n__cer__n__ed except for a bit of sweari__n__g o__n Kamanosuke's half._____

___**__EDIT 1: Thank you FeastofDreams for pointing out that Yuri is in fact Kamanosuke's LAST name and not his first D: Consulted wiki and found that, yes, Yuri was listed before Kamanosuke which would make it the last name. GAH! Feeling a tad foolish. Oh well, fixed it up :)  
><em>_**___

___**__E__n__joy :D__** ___

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><p><strong>Chapter One<strong>

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><p>BA-BUMP. BA-BUMP. BA-BU –<p>

He held a hand over his racing heart, trying to mentally will it back to its normal pace. It didn't make sense. None of it did. The only time his heart was usually this erratic was during the midst of fighting, where adrenaline would be pumping through his entire body. Usually quite a bit of blood is involved as well. Which was why nothing made sense – this time, there was no fight, no blood what so ever.

All it took was a hand. A hand touching his head and suddenly his heart begun to spasm out of control – almost like he was about to have a heart attack.

Wait. That actually sounds plausible. Maybe Saizo was testing a new bullshit ninja technique on him, trying to force him into cardiac arrest? His mind flashed by to the man in question reaching out and touching him; ruffling his hair. Kamanosuke frowned. That still didn't explain his mind had suddenly become occupied by the aloof ninja.

_Saizo's hands were warm_.

Kamanosuke flushed before he looked down at his own hands; taking in his lithe, slender and (dare he say it?), almost feminine fingers. Wordlessly, he ran his hand up the side of his cheek before he rested it on his head in a cheap imitation of Saizo had done not three hours ago. The action didn't stir anything up in his chest, so he couldn't attribute it to the fact that he wasn't used to anything touching his head that didn't involve trying to remove said head from his shoulders. He dropped his hand to his side in defeat, before raising his chin to stare at the night sky. It wasn't the same.

His hands were cold.

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><p>If possible, Kamanosuke felt even worse than he did last night. The sun was already high in the sky – even for him, which is considered way later than his usual rising. His limbs felt heavy and his throat was raw and scratchy like he had spent the night sleeping with his mouth open. Swallowing didn't help much either, there was a painful, swollen lump in his throat.<p>

Kamanosuke abruptly sneezed, before cursing himself for his lack of intuition. After his dip in the river, he had caught a bit of a chill, hence why the rare show of Saizo's concern towards his well-being, and what did he do? He sat down in the middle of a clearing for three whole hours on a cold and frosty night while trying to sought out exactly what he was feeling (which he still hasn't reached a conclusion yet).

It was a surprise he hasn't dropped dead from hypothermia, though he guessed it would have spared him from all his distressing conflicted thoughts. Had Kamanosuke not already mapped out the way he was going to die, hypothermia would have been a possible option.

The door to his small room slid open and a head poked in. At the sight of black hair, Kamanosuke felt his heart immediately speed up again.

However, it was not Saizo who had checked up on him and his heart lulled back into its steady throb. Disappointed, the fuschia haired male turned himself abruptly so that his back was facing the other man, looking every bit like a sullen teenager.

"What do you want?" Kamanosuke grimaced at the slight pain in his throat and he would have growled, had he not known that it would probably only agitate it further. He could feel the heavy gaze of Sanada Yukimura's right hand man on his back.

"Yukimura-sama was wondering why you didn't come for breakfast this morning." Rokuro said, peering into the darkness of the room. He frowned when he noticed the lump beneath the blankets. _Kamanosuke can't_ _still be sleeping_, he thought with slight disbelief. It was well past noon – everyone had woken up hours ago, training or patrolling as it were.

"Didn't feel like it." Kamanosuke mumbled as his reply before it was followed by a barrage of coughing.

_Ah, that explains it. _Rokuro smiled tightly at the boy, even though he wouldn't be able see it. "I'll inform Yukimura-sama that you're feeling a bit under the weather."

Rokuro slid the door closed, leaving the ill teen to his own devices. He pursed his lips as he walked down the corridor towards his lord's quarters. _I guess that means I have to prepare some medicine_ _as well_. He frowned at the thought. He barely had enough time as it were with the multitude of tasks that Yukimura piled on his plate, yet alone time to nurse a stubborn sociopath back to health. _I'll just order someone_ _else to do it_. Well, he'll make Yukimura order someone else to do it; it helped having the warlord wrapped around his finger.

However, it turned out Yukimura was not alone as Rokuro had expected. Instead, he was engaged in a heated discussion with none other than Kirigakure Saizo, who had surprisingly appeared in the five minutes since Rokuro had left Yukimura's side.

The conversation lulled to a standstill once Rokuro's presence was noted.

"Well?" Yukimura asked at the same time Saizo made a 'tch' sound. Rokuro regarded the ninja as the young man leaned against the wall with his arms crossed. Notably, there was no sign of Isanami; the pale haired priestess of Izumo; anywhere, which is a rare sight indeed, especially where Saizo is involved. Rokuro turned his attention back to his master.

"Yuri Kamanosuke is feeling ill," Rokuro said, as he lifted up the lid of the teapot in front of Yukimura to peer at the water level. "So I'll brew some herbal medicine." A sound came from Saizo's side of the room that seemed to resemble an unsurprised huff. Without another word, the ninja stalked out of the room just as Rokuro begun filling the teapot with more water.

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><p>Kamanosuke was on the brink of dozing off again when the sliding door was suddenly forced open. <em>If Rokuro is planning to force medicine down my throat, I will stab him with <em>_Kusarigama a__nd spit on his corpse_, Kamanosuke thought darkly. He didn't like medicine; more like hated the taste of it and if Rokuro thought that he would comply without a fight, he would be dead wrong.

He sneezed.

"I just knew you were going to get sick. Idiot."

Kamanosuke stiffened.

BA-BUMP. BA-BUMP.

There was no mistaking that voice.

"What does it matter?" Kamanosuke snapped as he struggled to sit up, feeling disgustingly tired despite sleeping longer than he usually did.

Saizo watched, leaning against the wall, with something akin to amusement. The young man was trying to get up but was losing ungracefully to the tangle of blankets that had tightly wrapped around him like a cocoon. A part of him itched to help the boy; the part of him that felt compelled to protect helpless creatures, and the part that would probably be his undoing. It was because of this part that he got sucked into this mess in the first place with an Isanami-growth attached to his arm.

But in the end, that small part of him wins – it always does.

Saizo kneeled in front of the writhing form and hooked his thumbs into the blanket. "You really should learn to take care of yourself." As he worked to untangle the youth, Kamanosuke fell completely limp and stared at the ceiling unseeingly with parted lips. Saizo vaguely wondered what was going through the other's head to warrant such an expression, but didn't. He barely knew how to handle Yuri Kamanosuke on a regular day, yet alone an ill one. He has still yet to figure out what triggered his random blood-related outbursts. Such as the one from last night, when all he had was ruffle his hair to check how wet he was before his hand was slapped away, followed by curses that involved his untimely death.

He had thought he was being nice; usually he wouldn't bother showing anyone concern, but as mentioned before, he had a soft spot for small, delicate defenceless things. Besides, someone had to make sure that the bloodthirsty idiot doesn't throw himself on someone else's blade. Yuri Kamanosuke was an odd one indeed.

Saizo's attempt to help was cut short as his hand was slapped away.

"Don't fucking touch me!" Kamanosuke said with a low growl.

_But if only his mouth and attitude was a bit more delicate_, Saizo lamented as he held his arms up in surrender, _at least to match that body of his_.

Kamanosuke's struggles started anew as his face heated up. He could feel his heart pounding in his ears and the blood rushing to his face. _What is the fucking matter with me?_ He didn't have a problem before; this feeling of fluster around this… this… ninja!

Kamanosuke finally kicked the blankets loose and ignored the man that had taken refuge in the shadows of his room. _What the heck is he doing here anyway? And where the heck is Kasarigama?_ He didn't realise it at the time of course but with a moment of insight, Saizo had kicked his sickle and chain out of sight and out of reach in an obvious attempt of self-preservation. Last thing he needed was Kamanosuke trying to jab it in his eye.

Saizo felt a smirk tugging at his lips. The thief's hair was untied and completely in disarray. It seemed as though the man had been rubbing his head against the pillow while he was sleeping and there was also a part of it that covered half of his face in a curtain of hair.

It didn't take Kamanosuke long to also notice his hair's unkempt appearance. The young man grumbled before he ran his fingers through his hair, grimacing as he untangled the knots with his fingers, before tying it back into its usual style.

He could feel Saizo's eyes on him and self-consciously, he tried to fight down the blush that was beginning to creep up his neck. Never mind what he was doing here, Kamanosuke just wished that the dark haired ninja would just leave already before he further stirred any more of these weird feelings in his stomach that was not blood related. Honestly, it was beginning to unnerve him and not many things did that.

Kamanosuke rose to his feet, swaying slightly but otherwise not making a fool out of himself – such as falling flat on his face – and that was what truly mattered. He wouldn't be able to bare the humiliation if Saizo started laughing his arse off (doubtful though because Saizo laughing is few and in between) and he already has to live with the fact that Saizo was here during one of his weakest moments. Gah! If he wasn't feeling so nauseous, he would have punched the ninja just for the feeling of satisfaction.

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><p>Kamanosuke glared at his lunch, his fingers tightening around his chopsticks until his knuckles turned white. His green eyes were narrowed into slits and he was emanating a deadly aura that made Sasuke and Ana, who were sitting on either side of him, look his way. As fully trained ninjas, they were used to sensing out malicious intent and they were definitely able to sense that the young man wanted to do some severe grievous harm.<p>

Sasuke was the only one who had a vague idea of what had brought on this rather irritable mood that had nothing to do with Kamanosuke's sickness. It was quite easy to make the connection after he had unwittingly heard the thief's full blown love confession of sorts last night. Well, maybe not love (Sasuke wasn't too sure that Yuri Kamanosuke was even capable of that), but it was definitely an infatuation, which really shouldn't be that surprising in itself since Kamanosuke was already completely obsessed with the other man.

Sasuke turned his attention to Saizo and lo' and behold, the root of the problem.

Isanami.

Why was Sasuke not surprised? Even in times when he kept himself in check, he would find it annoying the way the miko would always be physically hanging off the other ninja.

At the very moment, the girl was cooing and trying to feed Saizo with her chopsticks like those married couples would do in the privacy of their home. Meanwhile, Saizo was using his own chopsticks to bat hers away.

Seriously, he couldn't see what she saw in Saizo. He was conceited, rude and aloof; but most of all, he was an Iga ninja. She says that Saizo would protect her, but seriously hasn't Sasuke proved himself time and time again that he was more than capable, if not better than Saizo at offering protection. Surely, he would be the better option.

But Isanami would never notice him – at least, not like _that _and definitely not while Saizo was around. _He_ was the quiet one, the soft-spoken one, always with his animals. However, there was defining thing about him and that is the fact that he is a ninja. Not like a samurai who is bound to a code of honour; a ninja is capable of playing dirty to complete their duties, whether attacking an enemy while they're down or assassinating them in their sleep.

Sasuke bit his thumb in thought and returned his gaze back to the food in front of him. He furrowed his brows. It wasn't like he could get rid of Saizo – he was one of the ten Braves and was invaluable to their cause – so the only option he had was to remove the ninja from the equation. As long as Saizo was single, Isanami would view him as a prospective partner, which means only one thing.

Saizo needs a lover (safer to aim low, he could work on 'spouse' later). And it has to be one that is not Isanami, because that would defeat the entire purpose.

Of course, that is easier said than done. He had absolutely no idea that Saizo's type was. Did he like tall or short people, thin or slightly rounded, big breasts or – no, it could be anything and he hasn't even started on personality yet.

Sasuke sighed to himself before he glanced at the thief beside him who oblivious to his own wallowing in unrequited love. Well, Kamanosuke could always be an option he guessed, but it would be safer if he was a last resort. Saizo needs a permanent fixture in his life and no matter how hard Sasuke tried; he couldn't picture him with the thief in the long term. As a matter of fact, he can't picture Kamanosuke with anyone for the long term. He just didn't have the personality for it and if there was such a person who could handle him on a daily basis, they should be worshipped as a god.

But Sasuke guessed in the end it doesn't really matter. Saizo has never given any indication that he was interested in men.

At this thought, the orange haired ninja frowned. Then again as far as he was concerned, Saizo hasn't shown any blatant interest in women either, so that doesn't really narrow anything down. If anything, Saizo seems to hold men and women in equal contempt – the only one he doesn't, or at least tolerates is Isanami herself, but that is more than likely because the bubbly girl had worn him down.

So long-term lover is the key here – he didn't want all his plans unravelled by an unexpected break-up and have to start again.

As soon as he finished his meal, Sasuke stood up and left the room to begin his plotting. The sooner he started his self-assigned mission the better. Watching Isanami hang off Saizo is starting to wear him thin.

Believe it or not, even his patience wasn't boundless.

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><p><strong>Ta-da, first chapter up and running :D and I hope you enjoyed it.<strong>

**Review please, it makes me very happy XD **


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